COVID-19: New Saudi Arabia smart health passport not a travel must

Cairo: Saudi Arabia has said that a smart health passport, launched last week in the kingdom, is not at present mandatory for travel.

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Saudi authorities on Thursday launched the health passport for recipients of the two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19.

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The service is provided through “Tawakkalna”, a smart app accredited by the Saudi Health Ministry.

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“At present, the health passport is not a condition for travel. Some countries may set conditions in the future for taking the vaccine,” the app administrator tweeted.

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The passport is issued after receiving the second dose of the vaccine and introduced into the Health Ministry systems to appear via the “Tawakkalna” app

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Batches received

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Last month, Saudi Arabia launched its largest vaccinations against the highly contagious disease after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Registration for the vaccine against the COVID-19 is available for Saudis and expatriates in the kingdom through the smart app “Sehhaty”.

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Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is offered for free to citizens and foreign residents.

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Around 15,000 people have so far been inoculated against OVID-19 in the kingdom, according to local media.

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Vaccination priority is given to those aged over 65, people at a high risk of infection due to their jobs, and those suffering from obesity, chronic diseases or immunity deficiency.